An Apartment Furnished or Unfurnished?
A common problem faced by renters when moving into a new apartment is whether to go for an apartment with or without furniture. While the vast majority of rental apartments are unfurnished, there are instances where fully furnished apartments are being offered for lease.
There are advantages as well as disadvantages of both options, depending on the preferences, purposes and needs of the person including the timing of moving into a rental apartment. In this article we wish to delve deeper in to the pros and cons of it and their implications for different types of apartment renters.
What is implied by “Furnished”?
The term “A Furnished Apartment” could be interpreted by different people in different ways. Some may interpret it as comprising of every conceivable piece of furniture required in an apartment inclusive of electrical equipment and appliances such as alarm clock cum radio, DVD Player, TV, Stereo Setup, and decorative furniture such as nightstands, end tables, coffee tables, pantry cupboards etc.
Yet others interpret furniture as the most basic and major items such as tables, chairs, beds, wardrobes, dresses, verandah furniture, drawing room suites, etc subdivided into further categories according to size, the locations in which they are used etc.
Who need Furnished Apartments?
A furnished house is ideal for a new college student who has graduated recently and is just starting an independent life having not owned any furniture before apart from using the furniture in his parental home. Such a person who has obviously not been employed for long would not like to block a big amount of money by paying upfront for new furniture.
The other option for him is buying on hire purchase, when he would also have to pay a substantial amount immediately as a down payment, which is a disadvantage for him at this juncture of starting his life. The balance he would have to settle in monthly installments over a maximum period of 24 months.
By exercising the option of renting an apartment that is already furnished, he has chosen the most expensive option since the leasing agent too may keep a profit out of the renter for having advanced all his requirement of furniture for the apartment. So obviously the renter would be paying more to the leasing agent than he would pay the hire purchase company.
However, if the lease period of the apartment is for a longer period than two years, then the renter gets the benefit of spreading the cost of his new furniture over a longer period with the landlord’s agent (with no down payment too), whereby he may not feel the actual additional cost he is paying for his furniture.
Another type for whom a furnished house is a good option is (say) a family man moving from a previous apartment to a new apartment under special circumstances as described below: He would normally not need new furniture since we assume that he already has furniture that he had been using at his former apartment.
But now he is in need of a furnished house, because he has disposed of his old furniture. Finally, he too has opted for the furnished house like the recently graduated student for the same reasons of not being willing to invest upfront for his furniture requirements.
For whom is an Apartment Unfurnished More Suitable?
A renter who is already in possession of good furniture has no need of an apartment already furnished. Under these circumstances, selecting such an apartment is not only superfluous but a complete waste of the additional rental he has to pay for an Apartment already furnished. In addition, he would have to incur further storage costs for either storing the leasing agent’s or his furniture in a safe place, because he couldn’t possibly use two sets of furniture on one apartment.
Another type for whom an unfurnished house is more suitable is again a beginner in life without any furniture of his own, but who has saved to buy some furniture of his choice soon after moving in to a separate abode. It is a very pragmatic decision.
Storage of Additional Furniture and their Cost
Other options available to a renter who now has two sets of furniture by opting for an apartment with furniture while having his own furniture, are :
- Sell, donate or freely distribute his own furniture
- Put his furniture on storage somewhere
- Put on storage the furniture that he got together with the apartment
Thinking in terms of the long term benefits, it would be more advantageous for him to give away his furniture free and avoid storage charges; or to keep the furniture and go on paying storage charges over a very long period. He would have to also check with the landlord or his agent whether the contract provides for storing the landlord’s furniture elsewhere and if so, what exactly the limitations, restrictions and penalties involved are.